Morocco, Switzerland Plan Win-Win Vocational Training Partnership

In his 2019 Revolution Day speech, King Mohammed VI urged Moroccan youth to embrace vocational training.

12 Mar 2020

Essaouira – Morocco’s Minister of Education Said Amzazi arrived yesterday in Bern, Switzerland for talks with Swiss Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Krystyna Marty Lang.

The meetings focused on the development of stronger bilateral ties between Morocco and Switzerland, particularly in the education and vocational training sector.

Both Amzazi and Lang emphasized their country’s commitment to developing a win-win partnership and consolidating the current dynamic of relations between Morocco and Switzerland.

As part of the dialogue on educational and vocational training, Amzazi outlined Morocco’s ongoing structural development projects in the sector.

Prior to his meeting with Lang, Amzazi sat down with Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation and Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), Guy Parmellin.

Amzazi is set to hold a series of talks with officials and experts from the Swiss education and vocational training sector during his working visit to Bern.

The dialogue with key figures from the Swiss vocational training sector is in line with King Mohammed VI’s vision for Moroccan youth and plans to cut unemployment in Morocco.

In August 2019, King Mohammed urged young Moroccans to look to vocational training during his Revolution Day speech, arguing that the move would reduce unemployment and social disparities.

“Promoting vocational training is now an urgent necessity, not just to create employment opportunities, but also to enable Morocco to meet the challenge of economic competitiveness and keep abreast of global developments in various fields,” he said.

Morocco already has a program in place, with a budget of MAD 50 billion (about $52 million), for the period 2016-2022. The plan aims to cut the unemployment rate through access to education and vocational training opportunities.

In December 2018, the then secretary of state for higher education, Khalid Samadi, said that people who gain qualifications from vocational training schools are more likely to find jobs.

Samadi outlined a research report by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, saying it found that 63% of students with vocational qualifications find jobs within nine months of graduation.

Between 2015 and 2018 Morocco opened 27 training centers across Morocco, Amzazi announced in January 2019. The minister added that the number of scholarships granted to vocational trainees increased by 177% between 2018 and 2019. He also believes that the quality of vocational training in Morocco is improving.